This application relates generally to tamper-evident seals and, more particularly, to an apparatus for removing tamper-evident seals.
To assure customers that various products have not been tampered with prior to use by the consumer, the mouths of containers storing such products have been sealed. Products that include such seals include commercial products ingested by humans, pharmaceuticals, nasal sprays, motor oils, anti-freezes, insecticides, solvents, etc. The seals are known as “tamper-proof seals” or “tamper evident seals” and are typically fabricated from membrane or thin foil-like seals secured by an adhesive or a heat seal about the periphery of the container mouths.
The seals are generally removed from the containers by the consumers to provide access to the contents of the container. Typically to remove such a tamper-evident seal, the consumer punctures the seal and/or peals away most if not all of the seal. Sometimes fragments of the tamper-evident seals are left adhering to the containers and must usually be removed piece by piece. Removing such fragments creates an annoyance for consumers. Furthermore, because of the strengths of the adhesives commonly used in applying the tamper-evident seals, such fragments are often difficult and time-consuming for consumers to remove.